6 h 58 minAudiobook8 minSummaryRead it, hear it, the 15-minute summary, and print and large print at cost
Audiobook edition · 6 h 58 minPaperback · 6 × 9 in · printing soonHardcover · 6 × 9 in · printing soonAbout this book
What would you give up for someone you cannot bear to lose—family, faith, honor, or your future?
The Chevalier des Grieux is clever, well born, and destined for the Church. Then he meets Manon Lescaut at an inn in Amiens. He is seventeen; she is sixteen. Their love takes them to Paris, where his money buys a brief spell of pleasure, but cannot promise the comfort and security Manon craves.
In Abbé Prévost’s short French novel, passion leads to flight, gambling, prison, and quarrels with family. The Marquis de Renoncour records des Grieux’s account, giving us a lover’s story shaped by regret. As his steady friend Tiberge offers help and honest advice, des Grieux faces a question: what does he owe to love, and what does love excuse?
What you’ll discover
- A future put at risk Follow a gifted young man as his attachment to Manon threatens everything expected of him.
- Love seen through regret Hear des Grieux tell his own story, calling his weakness fate.
- Pleasure with a price Enter a Paris where rented rooms, dwindling money, and costly desires put love under pressure.
- A friend who stays Meet Tiberge, whose repeated help and honest counsel stand against des Grieux’s reckless choices.
- Manon through his eyes Consider a woman who loves des Grieux yet also longs for comfort, pleasure, and security.
Who will love it
For readers who love short, fast stories of passion and consequence, and anyone curious about the roots of the modern love tragedy.
What’s inside
The key ideas, in the 15-minute summary
- A stranger's story, told with regret
- One glance at an inn changes everything
- Paris brings pleasure and the first betrayal
- Saint-Sulpice cannot hold him
- Money, schemes and a closing trap
- What the story is about and how it is told
Who’s who
- The Chevalier des GrieuxA gifted young nobleman meant for the Church, who gives up his future for Manon and tells his own story with regret.
- Manon LescautA beautiful sixteen year old girl who loves des Grieux but also craves comfort, pleasure and security.
- TibergeDes Grieux's devout, steady friend, who offers help and honest advice again and again.
- The Marquis de RenoncourA traveling nobleman who meets des Grieux and writes down the story as he hears it.
- LescautManon's brother, a guardsman, who is ready to profit from her charms and from des Grieux's schemes.
- M. de B.A wealthy financier who tempts Manon with the comfort that des Grieux cannot afford.
Formats and delivery
- eBook
- On your phone, tablet, computer or Kindle, with the type as large as you like.
- Large-print eBook
- The same book in bigger, clearer type, from the first page.
- Audiobook
- 6 h 58 min, complete, read by Lucas Linden.
- 15-minute summary
- The key ideas in about 8 minutes, to read or to hear.
- Paperback
- 6 × 9 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
- Hardcover
- 6 × 9 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
- Large print paperback
- 8.5 × 11 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
- Large print hardcover
- 8.5 × 11 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
eBooks and audiobooks open right away. Download EPUB or PDF, or send the book to your Kindle. Every printed copy is made when you order it and shipped worldwide; shipping is shown at checkout.
How it works
- Start free. Nothing to pay today; the eBook of this book is yours to keep.
- Read, listen and print. 200,000+ classics as eBook, large-print eBook, audiobook and 15-minute summary, and any book printed at cost as a paperback, hardcover or large print, 5 accounts for the price of one.
- We remind you first. Free for 3 months, and we email you 7 days before your first payment. Then USD 0.14 a day in your first year on the yearly plan and USD 0.27 a day after, or USD 0.66 a day on the monthly plan. Cancel online in two clicks.
Bought on its own? Every eBook, audiobook and printed book you buy without the plan carries our 30-day money-back guarantee.
25 languages, side by side
Read and hear Manon Lescaut in 25 languages and switch at any time. Or read two side by side, paragraph by paragraph: the way to learn a language with a book you love.
Manon Lescaut
by Abbé Prévost · 1731
Meant for the Church, des Grieux meets Manon at an inn and puts his future at the mercy of passion.
Medium level5–10 hours to read25 languages
Excellent
- Read or listen
- 25 languages, side by side
- Print and large print at cost
- 5 accounts for the price of one
Free for 3 months · starts right away, on any device
Read free3 months free · cancel anytimeFree for 3 months, then USD 0.14 a dayCancel anytimeHow it works
In short
Manon Lescaut is a short French novel by the Abbé Prévost, first printed in 1731. It first appeared as the final volume of a much longer work, Memoirs and Adventures of a Man of Quality, and it soon stood on its own.
From the 15-minute summary · Key idea 1
A stranger's story, told with regret
The book opens with the Marquis de Renoncour, a traveler who writes down what he has seen and heard. He meets a young man in great distress, and the sight stays with him. Some time later he meets the same young man again, and the young man agrees to tell him everything. That young man is the Chevalier des Grieux.
This frame matters because it sets the tone before the tale begins. Des Grieux is not a boastful hero. He speaks as a man who has paid heavily for his choices and who still cannot say he would choose differently. The Marquis listens, and he offers little judgment of his own.
Free for 3 months · Cancel anytime
Free gifts
USD 580 in free gifts when you start
Every book in every format and in 25 languages, 5 accounts for the price of one. Nothing to pay today.
- 200,000+ classic eBooksIn 25 languages, side by side
USD 170FREE - Every audiobookIn 25 languages, any device
USD 120FREE - 15-minute summariesRead or listen, in 25 languages
USD 60FREE - Print at cost, no markupPaperback, hardcover, large print
USD 60FREE - 5 accounts for the price of oneA shelf for everyone at home
USD 170FREE - A part in rebuilding the libraryNew languages and books for all
FREE
Questions about Manon Lescaut
Can I read it free?
Yes. The first key idea of the 15-minute summary is free with no sign-up. Start free and the whole book is yours for 3 months, with the eBook to keep, plus 200,000+ more classics and any book printed at cost as a paperback, hardcover or large print. Nothing to pay today: we email you 7 days before your first payment, and you can cancel online in two clicks.
Can I buy the printed book?
Soon. The paperback, hardcover and large print editions are being prepared. Choose Paperback or Hardcover above, leave your email, and we tell you the day you can order it, printed at cost.
How many accounts do I get?
Five, for the price of one: you and 4 more people, each with their own login, shelf and their own place in every book.
Can I cancel anytime?
Yes. Cancel online in two clicks at any time and nothing more is charged. Nothing is charged in your first 3 months, and we email you 7 days before your first payment.
What is Manon Lescaut about?
It tells of the Chevalier des Grieux, a young nobleman who meets and falls in love with Manon Lescaut. For her he gives up the Church, his family's hopes and his honor, and he later describes it all to a listener.
Who wrote Manon Lescaut and when?
The Abbé Prévost wrote it, and it was first printed in 1731. It was originally the last volume of a longer work, Memoirs and Adventures of a Man of Quality, and later became a separate book.
Is Manon Lescaut a true story?
No, it is a novel. Prévost wrote it as fiction, though it draws on the manners, prisons and moral worries of early eighteenth century France. The frame suggests a true account, which was a common device then.
The author
Abbé Prévost
1697–1763 · French novelist
Abbé Prévost was a French novelist and priest, born in Hesdin in 1697. His name was Antoine François Prévost. He lived in France, England and the Netherlands. He wrote novels, including Manon Lescaut, which was published in 1731. He died in France in 1763.
More like this
Our mission
The library burned once. We are building it back.
Every great book, in every language and every format, for every family. Every plan helps pay for new languages, new audiobooks and books for readers who have never had them. Join the movement.
Read our story- Every language25 languages today, side by side, and more every year
- No wastePrinted on demand: no warehouses, no unsold stock, no pulped copies
- For everyonePaperback, hardcover and large print at the cost of printing
